I salute the man who is going through life always helpful, knowing no fear, and to whom aggressiveness and resentment are alien. Such is the stuff of which the great moral leaders are made who proffer consolation to mankind in their self-created miseries.
[Heil dem Manne, der stets helfend durchs Leben ging, keine Furcht kannte und dem jede Aggressivität und jedes Ressentiment fremd war! Von solchem Holz sind die Idealgestalten geschnitzt, die der Menschheit Trost bieten in den Situationen selbstgeschaffenen Leidens.]
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-American physicist
Essay (1953-05-23), “Aphorisms for Leo Baeck [Neun Aphorismen], No. 1, Essays Presented to Leo Baeck on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday (1954) [Einstein Archives 28-962]
(Source)
Quotations about:
fearlessness
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
Fear comes from uncertainty. When we are absolutely certain, whether of our worth or worthlessness, we are almost impervious to fear. Thus a feeling of utter unworthiness can be a source of courage.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 87 (1955)
(Source)
All the world is a very narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to be overwhelmed by fear.
כל העולם כולו גשר צר מאוד, והעיקר – לא לפחד כלל.
Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) Ukrainian Jewish Hasidic leader, rabbi, kabbalist [רַבִּי נַחְמָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב; of Bratslav; of Bracław]
(Paraphrase)
The original of this passage, in Nachman's Likutey Moharan, Part 2, 48:2, is:
[וְדַע, שֶׁהָאָדָם צָרִיך לַעֲבר עַל גֶּשֶׁר צַר מְאֹד מְאֹד וְהַכְּלָל וְהָעִקָּר שֶׁלּא יִתְפַּחֵד כְּלָל]
which is variously translated:And know, a person needs to make his passage on a very, very narrow bridge, and the rule and the essence is to not be afraid at all.
[Source]Know that [when] a person needs to cross a very, very narrow bridge, the general principle and main point is not to make oneself at all terrified.
[Source]Now know, a person needs to pass over on a very, very narrow bridge, and the rule and the essence is to not be afraid at all.
[Source]
This Nachman quote was paraphrased and set to music in the Hebrew tune, "Kol Ha'Olam Kulo [כָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלוֹ]":Kol ha'olam kulo
Gesher tzar me'od,
Veha'ikar lo le'fached klal.
Other translations of the song include:More information about the song:
- "All the world is a very narrow bridge, and the essence is not to fear at all."
- "All the world is a very narrow bridge, and the essence is, don't be afraid at all."
- "The whole world is a narrow bridge, but the main thing is not to be at all afraid."
- "All the world is a very narrow bridge. / But the main thing to recall / Is to have no fear at all."
MENENIUS: His nature is too noble for the world.
He would not flatter Neptune for his trident
Or Jove for ‘s power to thunder. His heart’s his mouth;
What his breast forges, that his tongue must vent,
And, being angry, does forget that ever
He heard the name of death.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Coriolanus, Act 3, sc. 1, l. 326ff (3.1.326-331) (c. 1608)
(Source)
Speaking of the title character.
I want
to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.
There were all kinds of things of which I was afraid at first, from grizzly bears to “mean” horses and gunfighters, but by acting as if I was not afraid, I gradually ceased to be afraid.
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Autobiography, ch. 2 “The Vigor of Life” (1913)
(Source)
Never contend with a Man who has nothing to Lose.
[No empeñarse con quien no tiene qué perder.]
Baltasar Gracián y Morales (1601-1658) Spanish Jesuit priest, writer, philosopher
The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 172 (1647) [tr. Jacobs (1892)]
(Source)
(Source (Spanish)). Alternate translations:Never to engage with him that hath nothing to lose.
[Flesher ed. (1685)]Do not engage with him who has nothing to lose.
[tr. Fischer (1937)]Never compete with someone who has nothing to lose.
[tr. Maurer (1992)]
